JP6164539B2 - Liquid tobacco composition - Google Patents

Description

  The present disclosure relates to the regeneration of liquefied tobacco, particularly tobacco dissolved in ionic liquids, and liquefied tobacco into solid tobacco.

  Extensive research has been conducted on tobacco and tobacco components. In many cases, it has been found desirable to reduce the level of certain ingredients, such as tobacco-specific nitrosamines, in the final tobacco product. Current methods for reducing the level of such components in tobacco include culturing tobacco in a solvent in which these components are soluble and extracting these components from tobacco. However, such a process is inadequate, at least in part, due to poor solvent penetration into tobacco or the inability to sufficiently extract components bound to non-soluble parts of tobacco such as cellulose. Tend to. More effective removal of tobacco components such as tobacco-specific nitrosamines would be desirable.

  However, increasing the efficiency or effectiveness of such component removal may lead to the removal of the desired tobacco components or may adversely affect the desired physical or chemical properties of the tobacco. Accordingly, it would be desirable to produce tobacco or tobacco products that have a reduced amount of selected ingredients while retaining the desired ingredients or properties.

US Pat. No. 5,810,020 Patent Application Publication No. 2002/0134394 WO2006 / 059229

Turner et al., “Biomolecules” 5: 1379-1384 2004 By Broughton et al. "Investigation of organic liquids suitable for fiber extrusion-NTC Project: C05-AE05" National Textile Center Annual Report 2009 Badrossanay et al., Nano Lett. 10: 2257-2261 2010

  As described herein, tobacco is completely or partially dissolved in a solvent such as an ionic liquid. With the tobacco dissolved, the selected tobacco components can be removed. Tobacco can be regenerated with the selected components removed. The components and properties of the regenerated tobacco material can be controlled to provide a tobacco or tobacco article with the desired properties.

  Completely or partially dissolved tobacco solutions or suspensions can provide one or more advantages compared to solid tobacco particles. For example, as described above, the ability to remove selected tobacco components can be enhanced. Such a solution or suspension additionally or alternatively allows for a more thorough chemical analysis of tobacco components, which analysis is currently limited to solid particles by combustion or extraction.

  Regeneration of tobacco from such a solution or suspension also provides one or more advantages compared to undissolved tobacco. As an example, the physical or chemical properties of the resulting tobacco, such as size, shape, flavor, etc., can be controlled through the regeneration process to allow the production of tobacco or tobacco articles with tailored properties.

  Tobacco can be dissolved in any suitable solvent. It has been found that the ionic liquid can act as a suitable solvent for complete or partial dissolution of tobacco containing the tobacco cellulose component. Any suitable ionic liquid can be used as a solvent for dissolving tobacco. As used herein, an “ionic liquid” is an ionic compound in a liquid state. The ionic compound can be a compound having a positively and negatively charged moiety, such as N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) or a salt. Suitable ionic liquids generally have a melting point of about 150 ° C. or lower, for example about 100 ° C. or lower. In embodiments, the ionic liquid is, for example, about 25 ° C. or lower, about 23 ° C. or lower, about 20 ° C. or lower, about 15 ° C. or lower, about 10 ° C. or lower Lower, about 5 ° C. or lower, about 0 ° C. or lower, about −10 ° C. or lower, about −20 ° C. or lower, about −30 ° C. or lower It has a melting temperature of about 40 ° C. or lower, such as low. Ionic liquids are generally liquids over a wide temperature range from the melting point to the decomposition temperature. It is preferred that the ionic liquid is a liquid at room temperature, in other words, has a melting temperature below about room temperature, which is generally considered to be about 20 ° C to about 25 ° C. More preferably, the ionic liquid is a liquid at a temperature below 10 ° C or higher, such as below about 15 ° C or below about 10 ° C. Most preferably, the ionic liquid is a liquid at a temperature below about 0 ° C., such as below about −10 ° C. or about −20 ° C. As an example, one suitable ionic liquid, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate, has a melting temperature of about −20 ° C.

In many embodiments, the ionic liquid is a salt. Examples of the cation portion of the ionic liquid salt include cyclic and acyclic cations. Cyclic cations include pyridinium, imidazolium, and imidazole. Non-cyclic cations include alkyl quaternary ammonium and alkyl quaternary phosphorus cations. Substituents on the cation (ie, R groups) can be C ₁ , C ₂ , C ₃ , and C ₄ which can be saturated or unsaturated. The ionic liquid salt can have any suitable counter anion. In embodiments, the counter anion of the cation moiety is selected from the group consisting of halogen, pseudohalogen, and carboxylate. Carboxylates include acetate, citrate, maleate, maleate, formate, and oxylate. Halogen includes chloride, bromide, zinc chloride / choline chloride, 3-methyl-N-butyl-pyridinium chloride, and benzyldimethyl (tetradecyl) ammonium chloride.

  Examples of compounds that are ionic liquids and can be used to dissolve tobacco include, but are not limited to, NMMO, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium. Chloride, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium methanesulfonate, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium diethyl phosphate, 1,3-dimethylimidazolium dimethyl phosphate, 1 -Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium methyl carbonate, and tris- (2-hydroxyethyl) -methylammonium methyl sulfate It is done.

  The tobacco can be completely or partially dissolved in the ionic liquid at any suitable concentration to obtain a liquid tobacco composition. As used herein, a “liquid tobacco composition” is a liquid composition in which at least some amount of tobacco containing a cellulose component has been completely dissolved. In embodiments, the liquid tobacco composition comprises more than about 1 wt% tobacco, such as more than about 2 wt% or more than about 5 wt%. In embodiments, the liquid tobacco composition comprises less than 90 wt% tobacco, for example, less than about 75 wt% tobacco, less than about 50 wt% tobacco, or less than about 30 wt% tobacco. In embodiments, the liquid tobacco composition comprises from about 1% to about 90% tobacco by weight, for example from about 5% to about 25% tobacco by weight or about 10% tobacco by weight. As used herein, “tobacco” refers to N.I. By leaves, stems, or other parts of some plants belonging to the tobacco genus such as tabacum species, or by-products generated during leaf threshing or manufacture of tobacco articles. The tobacco preferably includes leaves, stems, or leaves and stems.

  Optionally, the tobacco may be dried before being dissolved in the ionic liquid. The tobacco can be dried by any suitable method such as heating to promote evaporation, freeze drying or the like. In an embodiment, the weight percent of tobacco dissolved in the ionic liquid is calculated based on the dry weight of the tobacco.

  To facilitate dissolution in the ionic liquid, tobacco can be ground, cut, chopped, or the like. The resulting composition comprising tobacco and ionic liquid can be heated, stirred, sonicated, or the like to help dissolve the tobacco in the ionic liquid. Under a given set of conditions, such as tobacco particle size, weight percent, temperature, agitation, or the like, a given ionic liquid will cause the tobacco to dissolve completely within a given time. .

  In an embodiment, the tobacco is partially dissolved in the ionic liquid. Partial dissolution can be obtained by changing the temperature, time, agitation, etc. of the liquid tobacco composition. Tobacco can be partially dissolved to any suitable or desired degree. For example, tobacco can be dissolved in a time equal to or less than about 10% of the time required for complete dissolution under a given set of conditions. In embodiments, the tobacco is equal to or less than about 20% of the time required for complete dissolution under a given set of conditions, equal to or less than about 30%, about 40%. Equal to or shorter than, equal to or shorter than about 50%, equal to or shorter than about 60%, equal to or shorter than about 70%, about 80% It can be dissolved in a time equal to or shorter than, about 90% or shorter. The resulting liquid tobacco composition comprising partially dissolved tobacco can be cooled to slow or stop further dissolution of the tobacco until subsequent processing of the liquid tobacco solution. While not intending to be bound by theory, partial lysis of tobacco provides access to the removal of selected components such as tobacco-specific nitrosamines while maintaining many of the physical and chemical properties of tobacco. Therefore, it is considered that the cell tissue can be opened to some extent, thinned, and increased in permeability.

  To obtain a completely or partially dissolved liquid tobacco composition, tobacco components may be removed and tobacco may be regenerated. The component is preferably removed prior to or during regeneration of the tobacco. Any component can be removed. The liquid tobacco compositions described herein can be subjected to any of a variety of known or later developed processes for removing or reducing the concentration of one or more components. Such concentration reduction can be achieved in a liquid tobacco composition or can be achieved when the original tobacco is compared to tobacco regenerated from the liquid tobacco composition.

  In embodiments, the concentration of one or more nitrosamines in the liquid tobacco composition is reduced. Nitrosamines that can be removed or reduced include N'nitrosonornicotine (NNN), 4- (methylnitrosoamino) -1- (3-pyridyl) -1-butanone (NNK), 4- (methyl Tobacco specific nitrosamines such as nitrosoamino) -1- (3-pyridyl) -1-butanol (NNAL), N′nitrosoanatabine, and N′nitrosoanabasin. A high proportion of certain tobacco-specific nitrosamines, such as NNK, is present in tobacco in bound form and cannot be easily extracted using existing methodologies. The inventors have found that a significant amount of bound nitrosamines, such as NNK, can be removed from dissolved tobacco by dissolving the tobacco in an ionic liquid, and tobacco regenerated from dissolved tobacco treated as such. Has been found to contain conjugated nitrosamines that are substantially reduced in amount compared to the original tobacco.

  Any amount of nitrosamine can be removed from tobacco by the methods described herein. In embodiments, when regenerated tobacco material is regenerated from an ionic liquid tobacco composition from which nitrosamine is removed, the amount of nitrosamine in the regenerated tobacco material is reduced by about a factor of 2 or more compared to the original tobacco. For example, the amount of nitrosamine in the regenerated tobacco material can be reduced by about 5 times or more, about 10 times or more, about 20 times or more compared to the original tobacco. Such a decrease may be a decrease in free nitrosamine, a decrease in bound nitrosamine, or a decrease in free and bound nitrosamine.

  Nitrosamines can be removed or reduced by contacting the liquid tobacco composition with a tobacco-specific nitrosamine reducing material, such as a sorbent configured to adsorb or absorb nitrosamines. Tobacco-specific nitrosamine-reducing materials are nitrosyl complexes that are readily nitrosated with little kinetic or thermodynamic interference, as described, for example, in US Pat. No. 5,810,020 to Northway et al. It can be set as the capture tank containing the selective transition metal complex to form. The tobacco-specific nitrosamine-reducing material may be a material as described, for example, in US Patent Publication No. 2002/0134394 to Baskevich et al. For example, the tobacco specific nitrosamine reducing material can be selected from the group consisting of charcoal, activated carbon, zeolite, sepiolite, and combinations thereof. Tobacco-specific nitrosamine reducing materials can also possess certain properties that enhance their ability to remove nitrosamines from tobacco. For example, in embodiments, the tobacco-specific nitrosamine reducing material has a surface area greater than about 600 square meters per gram, and in some embodiments, greater than about 1000 square meters per gram. In some embodiments, the tobacco-specific nitrosamine reducing material comprises pores, channels, or combinations thereof, which are greater than about 3.5 angstroms, and in some embodiments, greater than about 7 angstroms. Has a large average diameter.

FIG. 1 is a bar graph showing the amount of untreated and treated GLS bound and free NNK.

  In embodiments, the concentration of one or more precursors of benzo [a] pyrene (BaP) in the liquid tobacco composition is reduced. As used herein, a “BaP precursor” is a compound that contributes to the formation of BaP when tobacco is burned. Any suitable method for removing the BaP precursor may be employed. For example, a BaP precursor can be extracted from a liquid tobacco composition using a solvent in which the BaP precursor is soluble. Such solvents include, for example, those described in McGrath et al., WO 2006/059229, such as a solvent consisting essentially of methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, or 2-propanol.

  It will be appreciated that the component removal process described above is presented for purposes of illustration and that any other suitable process can be employed to remove components from the tobacco composition.

  Various processes described herein, such as a process of dissolving tobacco in an ionic liquid, or a process of regenerating tobacco material, or similar processes can be performed at any suitable temperature. The appropriate temperature can be determined by any of a number of factors including the melting point of the ionic liquid, the acceptable temperature range for these processes, the desired temperature range, or the like.

  In embodiments, the step of dissolving tobacco in the ionic liquid is performed at a temperature above about 10 ° C or above about 20 ° C, such as above about 30 ° C. In addition or in the alternative, the dissolving step can be carried out at a temperature below about 120 ° C, preferably below about 80 ° C. For example, the dissolution step can be performed at about 60 ° C. As an example, the dissolution step can be performed at a temperature of about 10 ° C. to about 120 ° C., or about 30 ° C. to about 80 ° C. Higher temperatures can promote tobacco dissolution in ionic liquids. However, if the temperature is too high, tobacco or tobacco components can deteriorate. The inventors have found that the dissolution of tobacco in an ionic liquid at about 60 ° C. and subsequent regeneration results in a tobacco or tobacco component with little or no degradation.

  Tobacco can be regenerated from the liquid tobacco composition in any suitable manner. As used herein, “regenerated” or similar term means in the context of tobacco that at least some tobacco components have been separated or removed from the liquid tobacco composition in solid form. . The recycled tobacco material includes at least some tobacco cellulosic components. The liquid tobacco composition from which tobacco is regenerated can be a composition from which one or more components have been removed. In an embodiment, selected components are removed during the tobacco regeneration process.

  In general, the regeneration of tobacco from a liquid tobacco composition involves taking cellulose and at least some other tobacco components out of solution. This may be due to, for example, the addition of a secondary solvent that is miscible with the ionic liquid but not soluble or less soluble in the ionic liquid, such as by adding a secondary solvent, evaporating the ionic liquid, or similar methods. This can be done by changing the solubility of the components. Examples of processes that can be used to regenerate tobacco from liquid tobacco compositions include casting, extrusion into non-solvents, ultrasonic nucleation, freezing, centrifugation, spinning, injection into liquid, electronic Precipitation, coprecipitation on a support material, extraction with another liquid, supercritical extraction, or a similar process.

  As an example, tobacco is cast in a liquid tobacco composition and washed with a suitable solvent such as water, alcohol, carbonyl or other organic solvent, a supercritical fluid such as carbon dioxide, or the like, and a film of regenerated tobacco material. Can be reproduced by forming. For example, the casting process described in Turner et al., Biomolecules, 5: 1379-1384 (2004) can be easily modified to produce regenerated tobacco material membranes.

  As yet another example, tobacco extrudes a liquid tobacco composition into water, which cannot dissolve tobacco components such as cellulose, liquids such as alcohol, carbonyl or other organic solvents, supercritical fluids such as carbon dioxide, or the like. Can be regenerated by forming fibers. For example, the extrusion process described in “Investigation of Organic Liquids Suitable for Fiber Extrusion—NTC Project: C05-AE05” by Broughton et al., National Textile Center Annual Report (2009) is for producing recycled tobacco material fibers. Can be easily corrected.

  As yet another example, tobacco can be regenerated by spin jet spinning a liquid tobacco composition to produce fibers with reproducible properties such as morphology, diameter, and porosity. See, for example, Nano Letters by Badrosanay et al. 10: 2257-2261 (2010) can be easily modified to produce recycled tobacco material fibers. In the process of Badrossanay et al., The ionic liquid solvent is evaporated, resulting in regenerated fibers. The properties of the fiber can be controlled by controlling the parameters of the rotary jet spinning process.

  In any case, the regeneration stage or each regeneration stage can be performed at a temperature of at least about 0 ° C. Additionally or alternatively, the regeneration step can be performed at a temperature below about 40 ° C or below about 25 ° C. In some cases, the regeneration step or each regeneration step can be performed in a temperature range of about 0 ° C. to about 40 ° C., or about 0 ° C. to about 30 ° C. In addition to the actual regeneration, some other process can be performed at these temperatures after the regeneration phase.

  Regardless of how the tobacco is regenerated, tobacco components that may remain in the washed or removed ionic liquid can be added to the fibers or membranes of the original recycled tobacco material. The ionic liquid or the composition containing the ionic liquid can be captured by the following washing, evaporation, etc. of the ionic liquid during the regeneration process. Some tobacco components may remain in the captured ionic liquid composition. One or more of the components can be extracted from the ionic liquid composition recovered, for example, by liquid-liquid or liquid-solid extraction. The extractable components that can be concentrated can then be added to the original recycled tobacco by any suitable process such as spraying, coating, dipping, and the like. The residual solvent can be removed by evaporation or the like as necessary.

  The properties of the resulting recycled tobacco material can be controlled by controlling various parameters relating to dissolving the tobacco in the ionic liquid and regenerating the tobacco. The parameters include the solubility of tobacco in ionic liquid, melting point of ionic liquid, solubility of tobacco in non-solvent or secondary solvent, melting temperature of partial or complete dissolution, ratio between ionic liquid and non-solvent or secondary solvent, etc. Can be mentioned. The parameters are controlled to control the chemical composition of the regenerated tobacco material relative to the original tobacco, the physical properties of the regenerated tobacco material such as the fiber or membrane dimensions or thickness, the flammability of the regenerated tobacco material, the hardness of the regenerated tobacco material, etc. it can. The tobacco can be regenerated in any suitable form. Illustratively, the regenerated tobacco material can be molded or extruded. Recycled tobacco material fibers can be woven or non-woven as required. Accordingly, the final shape or form of the recycled tobacco material is not limited as compared to conventional tobacco thread formation and molding.

  The recycled tobacco material described herein can be used to make any suitable tobacco product. For example, the regenerated tobacco material can be used to form smokeless tobacco products such as snuff or snus or other similar products. The regenerated tobacco material can also be used to form tobacco for hand-rolled or homemade tobacco applications, as well as pipe smoking applications.

  In addition, the recycled tobacco material can be used for smoking articles. Smoking articles include both combustible smoking articles such as conventional cigarettes, as well as smoking articles that do not burn other tobacco. Smoking articles that do not burn tobacco are smoking articles that directly or indirectly heat tobacco, or do not burn or heat tobacco, but instead use airflow or chemical reactions to supply nicotine or other materials from tobacco Including smoking articles. In the case of a combustible smoking article such as a cigarette, the regenerated tobacco material can be used anywhere on the smoking article having a tobacco substrate, for example, a conventional cigarette tobacco rod, or one or more conventional cigarettes. The above filter segment. For smoking articles where tobacco does not burn, the regenerated tobacco material can be used anywhere on the smoking article having a tobacco substrate.

  By way of example and overview, the present disclosure describes various liquid tobacco compositions and processes. In some processes, the tobacco is dissolved in a solvent such as an ionic liquid, each component is removed from the dissolved tobacco, and the tobacco is regenerated with each component removed. In some cases, removal of each component and tobacco regeneration occur in the same step.

  It should be understood that liquid tobacco compositions allow for enhanced chemical analysis of tobacco components, regardless of whether the tobacco is completely or partially dissolved. Currently, analysis of tobacco components is limited to analysis of compounds that can be extracted or present in the smoke when the tobacco burns. By dissolving tobacco in a solvent such as an ionic liquid, each component is readily available for analysis and is not captured in the cell structure or non-extractably bound to other components. A full spectrum of tobacco component and composition analysis can be performed on tobacco dissolved in a solvent, which facilitates the removal of specific components or the identification of previously known or unidentified components be able to.

  In some embodiments, the increased amount of reducing sugar is presented or detectable in the liquid tobacco composition relative to undissolved tobacco. As used herein, a “reducing sugar” is a monosaccharide or oligosaccharide having an aldehyde group or capable of forming an aldehyde group by isomerization in solution. In embodiments, the reducing sugar has 10 or fewer monosaccharide units, for example 8 or fewer monosaccharide units, 5 or fewer monosaccharide units, or 3 or fewer monosaccharide units. All scientific or technical terms used herein have meanings commonly used unless stated otherwise. The definitions presented herein are for ease of understanding certain terms frequently used herein.

  As used in this specification and the claims, the singular includes embodiments having a plurality of referents, unless the contents are clearly not.

  As used in the specification and claims, the term “or” is used in a sense including “and / or” unless the content clearly dictates otherwise. The term “and / or” means one or all of the described elements or a combination of any two or more described elements.

  As used in the specification, “comprising”, “having”, “including”, “including”, “comprising”, “comprising”, etc. are used in a non-limiting sense, Including but not limited to ". It should be understood that “substantially configured”, “configured”, etc. are encompassed by “comprising”.

  The terms “preferred” and “preferably” refer to embodiments of the invention that can provide certain advantages under certain circumstances. However, other embodiments may be equally preferred under the same or different circumstances. Furthermore, the description of one or more preferred embodiments does not imply that other embodiments are not useful, and is intended to exclude other embodiments from the scope of the disclosure, including the claims. It has not been. The following describes non-limiting examples that illustrate dissolving tobacco in an ionic liquid, removing tobacco components from the dissolved tobacco, and regenerating tobacco from the liquid tobacco composition.

  In one example, the tobacco was dissolved in the ionic liquid and the tobacco fibers were regenerated from the ionic liquid. It should be understood that other ionic liquids and conditions can be utilized to dissolve tobacco and other regeneration processes can be utilized. In this example, tobacco threads were suspended in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate (2 threads per ml) and heated slightly with a heat gun. Within 30 minutes, the tobacco thread was completely dissolved in the liquid. A small amount of dissolved tobacco in ionic liquid was placed on the slide and a small amount of water was added to the slide and the tobacco fibers were observed to regenerate at the water / ionic liquid interface.

  In other experiments, reducing sugar was extracted from liquid tobacco compositions (tobacco threads dissolved in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate) or undissolved tobacco threads using an acetic acid solution. In alkaline solution, the extracted reducing sugar in acetic acid solution was reacted with p-hydroxybenzoic acid hydrazide (PAHBAH) at 85 ° C. to produce yellow osazone having the maximum absorbance at 410 nm. The concentration of yellow osazone was measured with a spectropolarimeter. High concentrations of reducing sugars resulted from liquid tobacco compositions compared to undissolved tobacco threads (data not shown).

  In other experiments, ground tobacco laminates and stems (GLS), ground tobacco stems (GS), threaded tobacco stems (SS), or threaded tobacco laminates and stems (SLS) at room temperature, 35 ° C, or 60 ° C. Dissolved in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate or lyophilized ([EMIM] AcO). When the following results do not indicate temperature, tobacco was dissolved in ionic liquid at room temperature. The tobacco was then regenerated from the liquid tobacco composition by adding water to the liquid tobacco composition and separating the resulting recycled tobacco material from the liquid. The regenerated tobacco material was then washed with water to remove the remaining ionic liquid and then dried. The amount of TSNA in untreated tobacco (tobacco not dissolved in ionic liquid and not treated for TSNA removal), and the amount of tobacco recycled material from the treated liquid tobacco composition was determined by HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography). Measured by.

  Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown a bar graph showing the binding of untreated GLS and treated GLS and the amount of free NNK. As described above, the treated GLS was dissolved and treated in [EMIM] AcO and regenerated. Table 1 below shows the NNK results together with the NNN results.

Table 1
Reduction of TSNA from liquid tobacco compositions

  As shown in FIG. 1 and Table 1, a substantial NNN and NNK reduction was observed following the removal process of the liquid tobacco composition regardless of temperature. However, at high temperatures (60 ° C. vs. 35 ° C.) tobacco is more fully dissolved, it is assumed that more bound NNK is released. On the other hand, the results are excellent in reducing free NNN and NNK, which is superior to bound NNK and cannot be reduced with existing extraction and processing techniques. A reduction of about 20 to 40 times was achieved in the bound NNK. This reduced level of combined TSNA was not possible with conventional extraction processes.

  Referring to Table 2 below, the yield of regenerated tobacco material produced from the ionic liquid tobacco composition at different temperatures is shown.

Table 2
Yield of recycled tobacco materials

  Referring to Table 2, the actual yield = [(recycled material mass) / (tobacco mass)] * 100%. Theoretical yield = [(recycled material mass) + (dissolved material mass in residual ionic liquid)] / (cigarette mass) * 100%. The theoretical yield takes into account the amount of dissolved material in the residual ionic liquid related to the insoluble residue after solid-liquid separation and the yield loss that can occur when transferred from the dissolution vessel to the centrifuge bottle. The concentration (g / g) of the dissolved material in the ionic liquid is calculated and multiplied by the amount of ionic liquid remaining in the residue. This formula provides a reliable estimate of the amount of dissolved material in the residue. The theoretical yield calculation assumes 100% yield in regeneration. If the remaining insoluble residue is very “wet”, there will be a substantial difference between the theoretical yield and the actual yield. The dry matter content of the sample after lyophilization also affects the yield results. The dry matter content was analyzed with 8 lyophilized samples, the range being 94.0-99.0%. For simplicity, the dry matter content of all samples was set to 96% in the yield calculation.

  Temperature substantially affects yield, with higher yields at higher temperatures. Surprisingly, dissolving tobacco in an ionic liquid at 60 ° C increased the yield by about 2 to 3 times compared to room temperature. Little or no degradation of the polysaccharide component is observed in tobacco regeneration from an ionic liquid solution at 60 ° C., indicating that high temperatures are suitable for increasing yield without degrading tobacco components.

Claims (15)

Dissolving tobacco in an ionic liquid to obtain a liquid tobacco composition;
Regenerating the tobacco to produce a regenerated tobacco material;
Separating the regenerated tobacco material from the liquid tobacco composition;
A method comprising: The method of claim 1, wherein regenerating the tobacco comprises adding a second liquid to the liquid tobacco composition.   The method of claim 2, wherein the second liquid is water.   4. A method according to any preceding claim, wherein the method further comprises the step of removing one or more components of the tobacco from the liquid tobacco composition. The method of claim 4, wherein removing the one or more components comprises contacting the liquid tobacco composition with a tobacco-specific nitrosamine reducing material.   Removing the one or more components comprises extracting the one or more components from the liquid tobacco composition with a solvent for the one or more components. The method according to claim 4.   The method of claim 6, wherein the solvent for the one or more components is configured to extract a precursor of benzo [a] pyrene.   The method according to claim 1, wherein the ionic liquid comprises an imidazolium salt.   The imidazolium salt is selected from the group consisting of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium salt, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium salt, and tris- (2-hydroxyethyl) -methylammonium methyl sulfate. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein:   The method of claim 9, wherein the ionic liquid is 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate.   The method is selected from the group consisting of ultrasonic nucleation, freezing, centrifugation, spinning, injection into a liquid, electron precipitation, co-precipitation on a support material, extraction with another liquid, and supercritical extraction. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a process. 12. A method according to any preceding claim further comprising incorporating the regenerated tobacco into an article . The method of claim 12, wherein the article is a tobacco substrate. The method of claim 13, further comprising incorporating the tobacco substrate into a smoking article. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the smoking article is a cigarette.